Yarrow Weed in a Nutshell

Before we can treat Yarrow effectively, it’s worth knowing a bit about it.

Appearance

Yarrow is an invasive weed that forms mats of ferny green foliage. It grows from Rhizome stems which grow below the surface of the soil, rooting at intervals.

The roots are tough and fibrous which makes this weed very tolerant to drought.

Although you won’t see them if you mow your lawn, the Daisy-like flowers are borne on stems between June and August and form a flat-topped cluster.

A Perennial Weed

Achillea Millifolium is an aggressive perennial weed, meaning that if not checked, the same weed can live for years.

Preferred Habitat

Yarrow will quite happily grow in all types of soil but it loves dry, chalky soils that are deficient in plant nutrients. In conditions like these, it can grow at an alarming rate, outcompeting the grass.

How to Remove Yarrow Weed From Your Lawn

Like I said earlier, Yarrow weed can be difficult to remove and control but this is how I’d do it;

Dig Out Any Clumps

Yarrow is very tolerant to selective weedkillers so before you waste your money, dig out any plants with a trowel or hand fork. It often helps to rake the weeds first with a springbok rake so you can get a hold of them.

Make sure you remove as much of the roots as possible as it can regrow from root fragments left in the soil.

If your lawn is covered, this might take a while but you’ll need to persevere.

Spray a Weedkiller Concentrate Over the Whole Lawn

If you’ve been thorough then hopefully there won’t be many plants left. However, if you have weeds grow back in your lawn, treat the whole lawn with a weedkiller concentrate.

Be sure to dilute the concentrate accurately though. You might be tempted to make it stronger than the instructions recommend but you’ll risk killing the grass. Dilute it too much though and it might not be strong enough to kill the weeds.

How to Prevent Yarrow From Growing in Your Lawn

As I have already mentioned, Yarrow weed thrives in dry, nutrient deficient soil. So in order to prevent it from growing in your lawn, you should make changes to improve the soil.

Scarify Your Lawn to Reduce Thatch

Thatch is a fibrous layer of organic matter that lies just under the grass but on top of the soil. It’s made up both living and dead grass roots and other matter.

Some thatch is good because it prevents the lawn from becoming diseased. Too much though, and it stops air, water and nutrients from getting into the soil. In turn, the soil becomes deficient in nutrients, water and oxygen so the grass doesn’t grow very well.

This creates the perfect environment for Yarrow to inhabit.

Scarifying your lawn will reduce lawn thatch and open the soil so these vital nutrients can penetrate the soil, giving the grass what it needs to produce food and grow.

Aerate Your Lawn to Relieve Soil Compaction

Soil compaction happens when kids or pets play on the lawn, if you walk up and down the same area of your lawn while hanging out the washing, or when the postman takes the same route over your lawn to get to the letterbox.

Over time the forces that go through the lawn push the soil particles together, squeezing out air and water. The ground becomes hard too.

When the soil is so hard and compact, air, water and nutrients can’t penetrate it. Which means the grass doesn’t have access to the nutrients it needs to grow, resulting in patches of threadbare grass.

To relieve compaction, spike your lawn in the spring with either a garden fork or a pair of aeration shoes. Then, hollow-tine your lawn in the autumn to remove cores of turf and soil.

This will allow your lawn to breathe and let water and nutrients penetrate the soil, giving the grass what it needs to produce food and grow strong.

Mow the Lawn Regularly

One of the secrets and most important part of maintaining and healthy, weed free lawn is to cut the grass regularly.

Regular mowing keeps the height of the grass relatively low. When it is prevented from growing upwards, it adapts and grows sideways producing new shoots and new leaves. All this results in lush, thick grass.

Cutting your grass much more than walking up and down the lawn once a fortnight though. There’s more to it than that, especially if you want a lawn to be proud of.

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